Good Vibrations

Problem: You would like to know who's calling you without having to take your phone out of your pocket or purse, while your phone is in silent mode (ringer turned off).

Solution: Create unique vibration patterns and assign them to people you know.

To create a new vibration pattern,

1) Go to

    Settings > Sounds > Ringtone > Vibration > Create New Vibration

2) Now start tapping a beat on the gray area
3) Tap on the Stop button
4) Tap on the Save button
5) Specify a name for your vibration pattern

To assign a vibration pattern to a contact,

1) Launch the Phone app
2) Tap on the Contacts toolbar icon (on bottom of page)
3) Tap on the Edit button
4) Tap on Vibration
5) Select a vibration from the list (the custom ones are at the bottom)

How to Print a PDF File or Image from an iPhone

Problem: You would like to print a PDF file or Image from your iPhone, but you don't have an AirPrint compatible printer.

Solution: Use your Mac to print documents with the help of Dropbox and Automator.

What you will need:
1) A Mac connected to a printer (via USB, wifi, wired network)
2) Dropbox app installed on both your Mac and iPhone
3) Automator software (comes with Mac OS X)

On your Mac,
1) Create a folder in your Dropbox folder (give it a name such as "To Print"),
2) Launch Automator,
3) Create a new Automator workflow with File > New
4) When prompted, select Folder Action

5) Click on the "Choose folder" menu by the"Folder Action receives files and folders added to" label,

6) Choose the "Other..." menu item,

7) Select the Dropbox folder that you created in Step 1,

8) Add the Print Images workflow action to your workflow,

9) Check the Scale to Fit, select the desired Orientation (e.g., portrait), and the printer if you have more than one printer connected to your Mac, 

10) You can optionally add a Move Finder Items to Trash workflow action to delete the file after it's printed,

10) Save the Automator workflow (this automatically enables this workflow).

At this point, any PDF or Image placed in the "To Print" folder will be printed to the selected or default printer.

To print a PDF document in an email attachment from your iPhone,

1) Tap on the attachment (PDF file) in Mail app,

2) Tap on the Share toolbar icon (box with an arrow),

3) Select "Open in Dropbox",

4) Under the Save Location, tap on folder icon,

5) Navigate to the "To Print" folder that your created in Step 1 in the above instructions,

6) Tap on Choose,

7) Tap on Save.

To print a picture from your iPhone's camera roll,

1) Launch Dropbox,

2) Navigate to the "To Print" folder that your created in Step 1 in the above instructions,

3) Tap on the three dots on the top toolbar,

4) Tap on + Upload,

5) Select the image(s) you want to print.

iOS Passbook

Passbook is one of the most useful and, at the same time, underused feature of iOS 7*. From Apple's website...

"Passbook keeps things like airline boarding passes, movie tickets, and gift cards all in one place, letting you scan your iPhone or iPod touch to check in for a flight, get into a movie, redeem a coupon, and more."

Imagine walking into a Starbucks and your loyalty/rewards card automatically appears on your phone's lock screen. Passbook uses your current location to determine the appropriate card to display. You're a simple swipe and scan away from enjoying your favorite beverage. At the airport, suitable boarding pass pops up on your phone's lock screen to scan at security and at the gate.

* Passbook is available in iOS version 6, as well

Extending iPhone's Battery

Problem: Your iPhone's battery doesn't last a full day without recharging.

Solution: From Apple's website...

Adjust brightness: Dimming the screen is another way to extend battery life. Go to Settings > Brightness & Wallpaper and drag the slider to the left to lower the default screen brightness. In addition, turning on Auto-Brightness allows the screen to adjust its brightness based on current lighting conditions. Go to Settings > Brightness & Wallpaper and set Auto-Brightness to On.

Turn off push mail: If you have a push mail account such as Yahoo! or Microsoft Exchange, turn off push when you don’t need it. Go to Settings > Mail, Contacts, Calendars > Fetch New Data and set Push to Off. Messages sent to your push email accounts will now be received on your phone based on the global Fetch setting rather than as they arrive.

Fetch new data less frequently: Applications such as Mail can be set to fetch data wirelessly at specific intervals. The more frequently email or other data is fetched, the quicker your battery may drain. To fetch new data manually, from the Home screen choose Settings > Mail, Contacts, Calendars > Fetch New Data and tap Manually. To increase the fetch interval, go to Settings > Mail, Contacts, Calendars > Fetch New Data and tap Hourly. Note that this is a global setting and applies to all applications that do not support push services.

Turn off push notifications: Some applications from the App Store use the Apple Push Notification service to alert you of new data. Applications that extensively rely on push notifications (such as instant messaging applications) may impact battery life. To disable push notifications, go to Settings > Notifications and disable notifications for select applications. Note that this does not prevent new data from being received when the application is opened. Also, the Notifications setting will not be visible if you do not have any applications installed that support push notifications.

Minimize use of location services: Applications that actively use location services such as Maps may reduce battery life. To disable location services, go to Settings > Privacy > Location Services or use location services only when needed.

Use Airplane Mode in low- or no-coverage areas: Because your iPhone always tries to maintain a connection with the cellular network, it may use more power in low- or no-coverage areas. Turning on Airplane Mode can increase battery life in these situations; however, you will be unable to make or receive calls. To turn on Airplane Mode, go to Settings and set Airplane Mode to On.

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Text to Speech on iPhone or iPad

How to Take a Screenshot on your iPhone

Issue: You want to take a screenshot of what's currently displayed on your iPhone (e.g., a webpage, a picture on the Instagram app).

Solution: Hold the On/Off button and quickly press and release the Home button. The screenshot will be stored in your photo library.

Resetting Your iPhone Voicemail Password

Problem: Your iPhone keeps asking you to enter your voicemail password, but you don't remember it.

Solution: Reset your password using AT&T's automated system with the instructions below.

From AT&T's website...

Reset voicemail password with AT&T's automated system

Call 611 from your iPhone,
Press 1 to confirm your phone number,
Press 5 to go to voice mail help,
Press 1 to reset your password,
Enter the billing zip code for the account.

AT&T will send you a text message with a temporary password
Remember or copy the temporary password
Go to Settings > Phone > Change Voicemail Password
Change your password